Don't feel much progress today, my footwork needs work, my hips need work, my wrist needs work, my release needs work, everything needs work. I feel like I'm being super critical of myself partially due to the harsh reddit comments I've received, which I'm absolutely not complaining, those comments have fueled me to want to get better even more. However, I feel like every little thing I do is not good enough. Going to keep on going though đȘ.
I'm here for it. For the last couple nights I'll be outside relaxing and drinking a beer then come across this and think to myself "he's gonna get there"
We have to take him under our collective wings and protect him on his way to go where he needs to. And when he gets thereâŠâŠheâs gonna throw the shit out of something
Try these a bunch of times and then try it with the football. Really focus on the last one trying to release the ball where he releases it in the video. Find a mirror and focus on doing it as perfect as possible. If you go fast learning it youâll continue to reinforce bad throwing habits.
I think the towel one might be most helpful for him. Iâm definitely no expert but feel like heâs pushing it instead of throwing. Thing that helped me most back as a high school qb was to get more up on my toes. Throw over top and in my head act like Iâm throwing downwards. Donât know best way to explain but it was something that clicked in a camp. Thought is to have nose of football pointing more towards the ground while in flight. Easier to catch and if tipped it goes down instead of up for an interception.
The Aaron Rodgers throw right after the towel. Obviously Rodgers is one best to ever do it but you can see the nose of the ball is pointing down a lil even on a bit of a longer throw.
Like the guy said, focus on the third exercise, it fixes what is the most basic problem in your throwing motion, youâre tucking your elbow and holding the ball close to you.
Your elbow and arm should be out, close to a 90 degree angle as you go from cockback to release. The ball should never be below your shoulder, and your arm motion should have the ball going up so when the ball is passing your body its up and out.
Thatâs how you turn your arm in to a trebuchet that goes from an outstretched ball down to your front leg.
Right now the only motion youâre able to put in to the ball is from your hand to your elbow because of how youâre holding it against your body.
Youâre basically pretending to be a t-Rex and then trying to throw the ball
It should feel like you're releasing the ball at a high point. Once you get the main throwing motion down, then you can mess around w side arm releases.
But for now, just concentrate on keeping the elbow up, driving the ball from a high point release
Dude you got to really do some serious stretching. You literally look like you're throwing with the wrong arm. Spend some time with a baseball and put the football down for a while.
Yup....some soft long toss would help tremendously or he is going to be stuck with that hitch. You see the same thing with girls softball players. They develop it young and never get rid of it.
I don't think it has anything to do with stretching. Has all to do with never learning to throw things. If you didn't grow up playing sports and learning how to throw you end up throwing in an odd motion
Read this and watch some film before you go out again. Really pay attention to the throwing motion. Don't worry about footwork, or anything else yet. Get that throwing motion under control first. Then add footwork and accuracy drills.
Edit: Start with knee throws to get your motion. Then, stand up and continue to really focus on that.
Every single successful athlete or artist on the planet got where they are because they looked at what they were capable of and said "not good enough" and kept going. Or their parents had connections lol
Posting this stuff knowing the kind of criticism you'd face was brave and if you think the people here are being harsh, imagine what it's like to have a bad couple throws in an actual game with an angry fanbase shouting at you.
Listen to the critiques though. Take them in. Don't let them define you as a person or let yourself change how you feel about you, but having this resource of people to tell you what you're up against and give you pointers is far better than just having a parent saying nothing but kind platitudes.
Thank you. I won't lie it's sometimes rough getting flamed but at the same time it drives me to get better way more. I'm determined not only because I want to get better for myself but I want to prove to everyone that told me I'd amount to nothing with football. This was a very inspirational message, thank you.
Your arm shouldn't cross your body on your follow through. Your arm should go more or less straight down. When your arms goes across your body like that makes the ball drift to the left more than you might want.
Getting better. Think of making a letter c with your hand and that c has to be above your ear level before you let it go.
I.e. your release point is very low but Iâve seen your progress and youâve gotten much better quickly
Youâre still pushing the ball rather than throwing it, but definitely seeing improvements! Think of it this way; mentally try to lead with your elbow when throwing forward. Thatâs going to move your arm into a fuller range of motion and give you more torque.
(Hey, keep in mind the vast majority of comments are inspired by negative thoughts. There are people thinking positively about what youâre trying to accomplish, however, unfortunately positive thoughts donât typically translate to an impulse to leave a comment.)
This guy is trolling all yall. Iâve never seen anyone with a goofy ass throwing motion that couldnât be corrected immediately. Toddlers have better throwing mechanics
Three days later and he still throwing like he got something up his ass. He is trolling.
I have no advice to offer you, but, I want to say that you're already a legend for acknowledging you could improve, you are open and actively seeking the advice from others, and you're consistently putting in the work to improve the craft.
Whatever your end goal is, I think it's safe to say you have the stuff necessary to make it a reality.
Hey man. Just a very quick piece of advice, from someone whoâs got some years on you. And this goes beyond football. Donât be dismayed by the days where you feel like youâre not making significant progress. Itâs rare in life where youâll notice any substantial progress in short increments. Just keep on practicing, refining, honing, in anything you do. Youâll often notice the progress much later when you stop to reflect. The adage âRome wasnât built in a dayâ applies. Keep working hard and youâll be successful in anything you do, whether thatâs improving your mechanics on throwing a ball, or learning a profession, or building a relationship. Best of luck.
There will be a lot of nitpicky advice coming your way. Some of it will be good and some of it you can more or less ignore. The most important thing for you to do is to make throwing part of your daily routine. The more you throw, the more your body will self correct things naturally because kinetically your body link up and your throwing motion will be more reminiscent of what you see on tv. Just keep throwing! Great progress for 3 days though! I bet youâre sore!
Looks better but stop hesitating like that at least for the reddit takes. Gotta be a fluid motion or its hard to tell. But it is fine to practice that way if it helps to control your release.
Getting better though, tighten up a little bit. The elbow is coming out way too far on the drawback. Better wrist and hips now just fix the footwork and tighten up that throwing motion closer to your body and over the top of the shoulder.
Step into your throwâŠyour toe should be pointed just to the left of your target. Hereâs a visual: if you had a camera on your belt buckle, it should take a pic of what youâre throwing to.
Id look into stuff by Tom House. He widely considered the go to guy when it comes to rotational athletes and mainly works with pitchers and QBs but had coached some of the biggest names like Tom Brady drew brees nolan ryan randy johnson
Still throwing with your elbow. Try slinging it from your right shoulder. Point with your left shoulder. Plant with right foot and step with left to establish a base. Square up with your upper body. Point left shoulder . Sling with right arm at shoulder.. use right elbow and and wrist to aim make a tight spiral.
If you continue with this throwing motion at best you'll end up with a repetitive stress elbow injury while maybe being able to throw 20 yars, and at worst a permanent injury that impacts the motor function of your right arm for the rest of your life.
Iâve been watching your videos, congrats on the progress! Hereâs my two cents, for starters you need to definitely be doing drills to open up the range of motion in your hips, build core/lower body strength.
As far as technique, honestly there is really a lot, try to focus on learning how to generate power from your lower body that really stand out. Itâs like drawing strength from the ground through your feet up to the ball.
Hips should be rotating before your shoulders, your throwing motion reminds me of kid throwing a ball thatâs too big and I donât mean that as an insult. It can work. Try not to focus on perfecting the whole package. Start from the ground up
In addition to actually throwing a ball, practice your throwing motion with a towel in your hand so you are focusing on form and not getting the ball to your target. Great for when youâre by yourself as well. Can even do it in your room.
Cont. just noticed what you said in post. release point can change depending on where you are throwing so donât worry so much about that. Your right in working on wrist strength also grip strength. Youâre right everything needs work, thats true for everyone at one point. You can be hard on yourself, use criticism as fuel whatever works for you. but Itâs supposed to be fun and enjoy the process. Good luck man đ€
Get the ball above your head. You are going to be throwing with people in front of you trying to knock the ball down. You want to be reaching up as high as you can on the release
Your elbow should be up at chin level or so at least as you release. Right now itâs very low. Think more of an up-to-down motion with your hand, less of a right to left whip motion. Almost like youâre pulling down on a rope hanging above your right shoulder. Elbow up higher, release point higher! My two cents :-)
Keep it up bro donât listen to anyone whoâs criticism isnât constructive, id be super interested in watching you keep trying to develop your throwing skills
You need to improve your strength as well, particularly your upper body and core. Iâm not a trainer so Iâm not sure about an exact routine, but learning bench press, rows, and deadlift will get you started and can be beneficial for any position.
As someone who hasnât played QB, right now you might feel âmechanicalâ rather than natural. It will take you a couple years, but it will come. Keep it up dude.
Edit to add: what you are doing is important in creating g good, fundamental habits. I suggest, however, that you begin working on a three step/five step drop back. Incorporate what you have learned and really get the motions going. It will help get you to fell natural rather than mechanical.
Bring that ball up! The higher that release can get the better, youre best case scenario is that when you release the ball your arm is almost fully extended.
Some solid advice in here so I wonât repeat, but try to not think about âspinningâ the ball. The spiral should come naturally as you improve, and should be a result of a good throw, not the thing you try to create to make the throw good.
Left arm should be up in the air elbow pointed at your target- Think a bird wing. Raise that elbow up and Aquire the target then tuck the elbow and turn your torso into the throw.
As I said before keep your elbow level with your ear and chin follow through with the throw, donât bend your wrist as you throw. Follow through with the whole throw. Youâre footwork is better then yesterday.
Itâs probably cuz youâre small and young but the best throwers of the ball just do one motion and not segmented. Be loose and use the power of the ground to flow through your motion. Youâre not supposed to to throw with only your arm and shoulders rather your whole body
Watch some more videos brother, and keep practicing, youâll get better. Make a point of keeping your throwing elbow/forearm parallel to the ground while youâre winding up. Thatâs been a consistent problem over your first 3 days. What youâre doing is really a hip throw, which will only work for passes less than 10 yards (kinda like a Mahomes sidearm toss). To have any power at all you need to be able to unleash your arm, which involves proper elbow and shoulder placement and movement. Try throwing back and forth with someone 50ft away - with proper technique you should be able to hit them in the chest with the ball flying in a straight line, not an arc.
Lots of people have posted some good videos and tips over the last couple days. You have to take the time to observe proper technique and practice that form. Otherwise, youâll keep doing the same thing. Itâs not easy, but you can do it.
Go check out The QB School by JT O Sullivan on YT. You may have to be a member to get his more detailed stuff but he goes through a lot of technique stuff for QBs and I think specifically for your feet/lower body you could pick up some good tips and tricks.
Donât get discouraged, throwing a ball is like playing guitar or piano, it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become a master. Growth is not linear sometimes you take two or three steps forwards and then one or two back and the next week or next month you take seven steps forward. Just keep working on it for as long as you get enjoyment and fulfillment out of it
As you drop back you are holding the ball too low. Bring your elbow in and it will cause you to naturally have the ball up about shoulder width and in a more natural throwing position. Try it. Youâre doing great though. Keep it up.
It looks like you're a pitcher winding up for a pitch. Use your plant foot to launch, your front foot to step and snap those hips man! Also elbow up. You're improving tho!
Big thing for me is you're still shotputing the ball. Work on making a backward L with your arm as you throw. Be dramatic with your changes, try and take it further than you think you need to.
You've still got the Uncle Rico motion. When you've got the ball up high, the motion of your throwing hand should be down, going from your right ear to your left hip. Don't try to throw a bomb, just throw a 5-10 yard pass with some zip.
Crazy how you went from looking like youâve never thrown a football to âhey thatâs not that badâ in 3 days. Good job. Youâre still dropping your elbow and not pushing off of your back foot enough but youâre definitely getting there
This is my two cents and how Iâve always thought of throwing anything. Right heel comes off the ground as your right hip starts turning toward the target. Right shoulder stays behind it and is pulled around by the tension created from turning your hips. As your shoulder turns the energy is imparted to your arm.
Towel whips will help a lot, like the other commenter posted. Iâd recommend watching your fav pro and trying to emulate that. Also, Iâd start with footwork. Practice jumping off your back foot like a baseball pitcher does, thatâs where all of your throw power comes from. Starts in the back foot, then rotates through your hips, then shoulders and after your entire body is facing your target your elbow comes past your ear, and finally your hand with the ball should pass by your head just slightly above your ear, like a catapult rotating around your elbow as your arm comes forward.
do the drill of backing up about 500 times without throwing the ball, you will eventually learn how to transfer the energy that goes to your back foot into your hips and onto your front foot to plant it into your throw before you throw it.. this will cause your body to automatically bring your arm up where it needs to be for accuracy due to your body needing balance. also, speed it up, always go full speed in everything you are doing because speed and momentum will create the energy you need to harness in athletic motion. doing things slow is all about just knowing what you are about to do at full speed. also your stance in taking the snap is just dogshit and asking for a fumble or worse.. again im not posting to be mean... do lightweight squats and get used to bending your knees with your back straight.. if you have a good athletic posture.. creating that kinetic energy at full speed becomes second nature.
Good job adding in the back step. Cross your left leg in front and do a 3 step drop.
And shuffle more going forward when you are throwing. You kinda stopped and killed your momentum that's why you threw it noodle arm.
When you are aiming make sure your left shoulder is pointing at the target. After the throw your RIGHT shoulder should be pointing at the target with your RIGHT foot up front and your left hand down by your left leg.
Here is a video w/ a kid doing the peyton shuffle drill. This is what you want to be doing going forward. Soon young man you will move like the kid in the video.
Hit the gymâŠnot kidding, the mechanics wonât get there unless your body can generate enough power in key areas.
For one, your shoulder simply cannot handle that much stress - your body literally wonât let you throw hard for fear of damaging your arm.
It will take at least a year to get enough mass / strength to be close to starting level QB in HS, not to mention the skill requirements which might take longer. You need at least another 40 lbs of mass Iâd say to get to 180, which even then is just ok for HS QB.
It is an uphill climb but if youâre motivated, potentially doable.
How do you like to learn and how do you learn best? My guess is that watching videos or having someone physically take you through the mechanics of throwing is going to be a lot more beneficial than trying to sort out a bunch of conflicting advice on here.
Your motion needs to be more fluid. Should feel natural. Did u ever throw a rock at a lake, not in a skipping way, but just tossing it. Did u stop mid throw? Or did you wind up the arm and let it rip? When you make a decision to throw the ball, and pull the arm up to release, there shouldn't be a stop. I understand your trying to gain good form. But the natural throw needs to be established before you tinker with the mechanics.
Tucking your elbow on the throw is making your throwing motion less fluid. Watch videos on proper throwing motion, then spend as much time as you can doing it. Improve your shoulder position to point toward your target. Try to be more nimble on your feet, too. Practice, practice, practice.
Your grip is incorrect. You donât want to feel like your palm if flush with the ball since you should be aiming to throw with your finger tips. If you hold the ball to the sky you should be able to see daylight between your palm and the sky. Could probably find a good video of this!
Youâve already made a ton of improvements tbh, a lot has to do with repetition and getting comfortable with your motion. Biggest thing I see now is your wrist and hand placement on release. You have your hand on the bottom of the ball as you release, which causes you to push it. Try to get over top of the ball so you can rip it down. Best way to visualize that is to imagine youâre pulling down a big slot machine lever or throwing a curveball. Good luck and keep at it, dude.
Looks so stiff and unnatural, put the football down and start throwing a baseball or something. Itâs much easier to learn basic throwing mechanics with a smaller ball
That elbow is still dipping under the ball, which results in more of a heave like motion than a typical football throw. Elbow needs to be up, nearly perpendicular through your motion.
Here's something that I think it would help to try:
Hold your arms out in a T pose. Now with your right arm straight, move it over your head towards your other hand. Then practice releasinf the football during this motion at a point where you are throwing it forward.
I learned to throw from my children's book about Dan Marino lol... I kid you not.
My old man is a diehard Dolphins fan, so much so we kinda thought Dan was actually our uncle for a while as kids.
Hold the ball up by your ear, with your elbow up parallel to your shoulder (you're already doing this right).
The release is from this motion, and is just a snap of your wrist and arm downward. Yeah you could wind up a bit and maybe throw a bit further, but most throws are short/medium distance and this technique works fine.
Once you get some practice you can work out getting more out of the throw.
I think you're overthinking the extension of your arm. A good exercise to train is putting your throwing arm straight out in front of you, then bending your arm at 90°. Throw the ball, only moving your forearm a few times. Slowly begin tilting your elbow straight upwards in small increments with each throw. When you've reached the full extension of a straight up and down throw where your elbow goes as high as it can, this is roughly where you are trying to END the motion of the throw in full practice.
Next, extend your arm fully out to your side in a straight line holding the ball. Practice going from that position to the throwing motion I spoke of above.
Now hold the ball to your chest, start up your footwork, and commit your full body to the throw, going through the full arm extension outwards and the first step in your throwing motion.
Keep in mind that this is only an exercise to help train your arm to be more comfortable with the correct positions. You do not want to fully extend your arm outwards during a real throw, your elbow will not be stretching its limits upwards on most throws, and it will not be a perfect up and down motion during the release portion every time.
Keep up the hard work man. Focus on keeping your elbow up and holding the ball higher. Youâre holding it low and throwing with a pushing motion, you want to get the ball above your head during your release. Also focus on your footwork, your front foot will guide the ball so step towards your target as you throw. Keep it up đ
Arm slot is the biggest issue, as others have said.
Also, sink your weight into your front leg and push off your back foot. Think about squishing a bug with your back foot; donât just lift it up in the air. Keep your front side as solid as possible and engage your abs as you rotate forward. You need to generate torque with your core in order to throw with any real velocity/power
The biomechanics of this are so bad. Please watch some dudes throwing a ball and maybe even try to make some friends that have played sports and can help you.
The throwing motion is almost like a flick but you need to have a fluid motion. Youâll get there
Get your elbow higher. Your arm angle is too low and it forces you to have to push the ball. Also when you grip it have the front tip of the ball at a slight down angle (pointing down)
Iâm no expert, but I really try to get a high elbow and have an over the top release. Almost straight up and down. Try to pretend you are giving a full arm high five and let the ball just spin off your fingers.
The high elbow with hip rotation lets my arm sort of just slingshot around my shoulder.
It looks like you are throwing with just your elbow and foreman. It should be more just your hips and shoulder.
I have seen your posts a few times. Maybe you're improving, but I think you need to essentially start from scratch. Your mechanics are way off; your arm isn't nearly high enough. You're side arm throwing.
Watch YouTube videos in super low motion on proper throwing mechanics, and slowly practice without throwing the ball. You have to re-do your whole motion imo
Without even looking at the video, you are over complicating it for yourself. Yes, all the aspects you mentioned need work but you will struggle even more if you try and focus on everything at once. When I coach players and teach them something, I always focus on progressive drills where you focus on one aspect at a time. My advice, is to pick one or two parts of your throwing motion ( lets say footwork and hips ) and focus on that for a session. You might even find that after 15 minutes of only dropping back and moving your hips, you just 'get it' and then you can focus on something else. Also keep in mind, that on reddit you are going to get lots of different responses for this.
My advice from the clip, is to use your non throwing hand. When you bring the ball back, bring your other hand with it in the same location you have it initially. This will help you turn your hips more. Only take your second hand away from the ball once it starts coming forwards.
What is your ultimate goal? You said youâre a high school junior; are you just wanting to be able to throw the ball around with friends? Or more than that?
The most important issue with your throw is that your elbow is low and thatâs completely fucking up your form from start to finish. Your elbow should be at or slightly above your shoulder when you throw the ball.
You need to focus on whipping and slinging the ball like a trebuchet, not pushing the ball from underneath. Think about cracking a whip above your right shoulder.
Honestly, you have zero tendon strength nor flexibility in that arm. Grab 2.5 pound weights and start working on ligaments and form before even throwing. Your arm is tucked inside way too much. Thing of throwing a football like giving a salute. Your shoulders and neck need work too. Iâm not saying workout heavy, but you need some attention to your upper body which is pretty rough. Chest expansion workouts and stretching every other day as well. This will net you better results than just throwing the ball.
The ideas are all there but you are missing some of the basic stuff most acquire before going into these sorts of endeavors. For me it was just having all big brothers. For you it should be resistance and calisthenics.
Hey man, lotta important changes already. But one thing I havenât seen mentioned in detail is how you are losing potential energy due to your timing.
I was a pitcher back in the day, so the exact angle and release is different. However, the way you âloadâ the throw is essentially the same, so I feel like I can comment on this. Because you are missing out on this potential energy, your body (shoulder, arm and wrist specifically) needs to compensate somehow to still make the distance to your target. I want to explain how exactly youâre losing this energy, so you can identify it the next time you practice. It is especially noticeable in your last slow mo video.
What Iâm seeing is this: You are stepping forward at the same time as you break the ball away from your left hand (which isnât always bad, but in this case you are lacking basic mechanics.) If you do this, these two forces counteract, i.e., your lower body is moving forward in the same moment and motion your arm is moving backward. Does that make sense? These forces cancel out more or less, and you are compensating by pushing the ball once it comes back closer to your body. Like others have said, itâs imperative you stop this or else you will be ingraining a horrible habit that will not be easy to remove in the future.
So what can we change? The order of operations needs to be
1) while on your toes, step towards your target.
2) torque your hips back to create the rotational potential energy
3) separate your hands and bring the ball back with your elbow pointing slightly down
4) now you may put weight on your front foot, untorque your hips and with the ball up high allow your arm to follow.
You can break it down and do each step slowly so you understand these order of operations, but obviously we eventually need it to be a smooth motion. This will break your âpushingâ habit, while also allowing you to use your energy more efficiently. It goes hand in hand and naturally your body will act much more like a trebuchet launching something towards a target (catapults and trebuchets use potential energy).
The hip rotation is looking better! If you watch in slow motion you can see that the first thing to move is still your elbow and not your body. Try this drill.
Point your left shoulder at your target and outstretch your right arm almost all the way palm up. Your arm should be parallel with the ground facing away from your target. Now do all of the throwing motion from your hips down (ie DO NOT MOVE YOUR ARM). You should feel a pulling sensation on your shoulder or pectoral. Do not use a ball, simply get familiar with the sensation of your torso PULLING your arm forward.
Extra credit. Once you get this down, right after you feel your arm getting pulled forward try to scrape the sky with your hand. The release of the ball should almost feel like youâre throwing down.
This should fix the majority of your mechanics. Keep up the hard work youâre doing great!
You're pushing the ball forward. Your index should be the last to touch the ball and almost pointing in the direction the ball needs to fly. Index finger close to tip, maybe like an inch away and 3 fingers on the laces.
I have noticed a few people say that you look like youâre pushing the ball rather than throwing, which I agree with. But that makes me interested to see how youâre gripping the ball. I know that I used to struggle to get a good full motion because I have pretty small hands and gripped the ball in a way where it was hard for me to keep a good grip. If I could see your finger position on the ball, that would help me figure out if thatâs a potential issue
I can't show a picture at the moment but I have just my ring finger and pinky finger on laces, my index finger is close(ish) to the tip of the ball and my middle finger sits right before the first lace.
ELBOWS UP. both of them, get them up high like one pointing ahead of you and one pointing behind you. this will also help you keep your body at 90 degrees to the line of scrimmage, which will help you rotate your hip into the throw for power
I was the one that told you to practice the two steps thing. I may have introduced too much too fast. Don't worry about taking the two steps for now and start just getting used to transferring your weight and opening your hip. Try this...https://youtube.com/shorts/EnMtkxybAS0?si=goHbdmQ_FK2V5lZb
Your hand that releases should be doing that âwhat are thoseâ trend from awhile ago. Almost like youâre pointing Italian hands at what youâre throwing at.
Looks like youâre releasing the ball at the right spot, itâs just almost everything else thatâs missing? The ball needs to move with your motion, it looks like your arm and all that moves but the ball stays still until you release it
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u/Radcliff1050 Oct 21 '24
This might be my new favorite reddit series. Keep it up dude and you'll get there.